Should gay couples have kids? Should any of us?
Courtney Love has tweeted she wants to burn her Dolce & Gabbana clothes because of the “senseless bigotry†of Stefano Gabbano’s beliefs that a child needs a mother and a father; that he could not imagine his childhood without his mother. I feel for Courtney Love: a woman whose own daughter has had to somehow […]
When teenagers have sex…
I’ve just read a story about a 17 year old boy who jumped to his death from the Forth Road Bridge. He was being blackmailed about online conversations he’d had with someone he thought was a girl his own age. You can read more about this sad story here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2394520/Dunfermline-teenager-Daniel-Perry-17-kills-blackmailers-trick-Skype.html When will we begin to […]
Should children have best friends?
Earlier this week I was musing with my husband about whether all this well-meaning parental interference in our children’s friendships was hampering the development of those friendships and in particular, best-friend relationships. I’ve had plenty of conversations with parents who have said that their children do not yet have a solid best-friend. I recall that […]
No-one really wins a power struggle
I live very close to a primary school.  One morning as I came out my front door, Henry*, and his Granny and Grandad were getting out of their car. Henry started whining. “I don’t want to park hereâ€, Henry moaned at his Granny. My ears started tingling. “How will Granny handle this?†I wondered. “Well, […]
Celebrating Grandparents
This Sunday is Grandparents Day. I’d like to share some of my longing for that day. I long for a day when all grandparents receive appreciation for an important job, sincerely undertaken, on a daily basis. I long for the day when we share our appreciation of grandparents from a place of true honesty rather […]
Should we say sorry to our children?
I was recently asked what my position on saying sorry to children was. Personally, I say sorry to my children on a regular basis. I do this because like every parent, I make mistakes. I still say and do things I regret and wish to make amends for. Most recently, I did it yesterday at […]
Time Out….For Parents
Here’s a story from a Mum I was working with this week. This Mum’s attention was attracted by the sound of her 10 month old daughter crying. She followed the sound and discovered her two daughters in the bathroom. The baby’s head and shoulders were covered in talcum powder. Her four year old daughter was […]
Rules and relationships
Rules before Relationship = Resentment & Rebellion Relationship before Rules = Respect
